Discharge appliance for railway tank-cars.



C. 'M. BLOXHAM.

DISCHARGE APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY TANK CARS.

. 7 APPLICATION FILED JUNES, 1908. 1,135,254.

Patented Apr;l3,1915.

4J4 ATTORNEY C(M. BLOXHAM.

DISCHARGE APPLiANCE FOR RAlLWAY TANK CARS.

\ APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3 1908. 1,135,254.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

4M JZFWM WITN ESSES 4'4 ATTORNEY ydzmw c. M. BLOXHAM.

DISCHARGE APPLIANCE FOR-RAILWAY TANK CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1908.

\ Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

\VITNESSES Z z 2 fi wz ATTORNEY C. M. BLOXHAM DISCHARGE APPLIANCE. FOR RAI LWAY TANK CARS. APPLICATION FILED IUNE3. 1903f 1,135,254. Patented Apr. 13, 1915;

a SHEETg-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES INVENTOR $4 ATTORNEY c. M. BLOXHAIVI. DISCHARGE APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY TANK CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3. I908.

Patented Apr. 13; 1915 5 SHEETS-$112M 5.

WITNESSES 5% Va. flab/m a sine ATEN onions.

CHARLES H. BLOXHAILVI. OF VERONA, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO UNION TANK LINE COMPANY, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DISCHARGE APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY TANKIbKRS.

Application filed June3, 1908.

To all whom it may concern Be it knoun that 1, CHARLES M. Biiox- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Verona, in the county of Essex, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new. and useful Improvements in Discharge A ,pliances for Railroad Tank-Cars, of JV 1611 improvements the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the discharge appliances whicharo a customary part of the tank cars used on railroads for the transportation thereon more particularly of oil andother liquids, the object of such appli- 'ances being to enable the car tank to retain its appropriate contents when the discharge openin is closed and to be emptied ol' the Same when such opening is unstopped. ()utside the discharge openings of these tanks there are discharge nozzles permanently secured to the tanks and provided with removable capswhich are ordinarily placed on the outer ends of the nozzles, but which are rc moved when the cars are to be emptied. Inside the tanks there are discharge valves. The caps are important; because they :lurnish more perfect and more secure closures than valves when the cars are moving;' from pla e to place; but it is also important to have valves for controlling the discharge openings of the tanks when the caps are rcmoved, in orderto allow the tanks to be emptied in whole or in part. The nozzles not only furnish means for capping the dis charge openings; but they also allow hose to be connected with the tanks for delivery of their contents as may be desired.

In accordance with the present invention, a number of inprovcmcnts have been made in respect to the discharge appliances of railroad tank cars; any one or more of which improvements can be used within the limits of the invention; and each of the improvements constituting said invention is intended to be secured for all the uses to which it may be applicable.

\Vith the discharge. applian es in most common use danger is likelv I arise from derailment of a'tank cai provide with such appliances or from othc accident to such car, consequence ol' l liability ol' any bending or breakage of the discharge nozzle to cause the valve to leak and thus to allow the tanks contents to escape; which con tents in many (perhaps most) cases would Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915. Serial No. 436,439.

be inflammable (being kerosene) and in some cases highly so (as naphtha). Along with this; disinlvantagc, however, the common arrangement is very useful in furnishing a quick acting valve, that is to say, one which can be quickly opened and closed, at matter ol consequence in case, for example, there is danger oi sediment collecting on the valve scat; and it also permits the valve to be very easily taken out and replaced when desired. iy means of the prcesnt iu vention those advantages are preserved while the danger ol leakage by breakage or displacement oi the valve in case oi accident to the discharge nozzlc is reduced or avoided.

The :icconipanyiug drawings, which'loim part of this specification, illui-dratc what is considered the brst modo ol' carrying into cil'cct each ol' the improvcmcnts composing the invention.

l igurc l is a vertical section through part ol a railroad car lank. its dischargc nozzle and thc \';|l-v guidingmeans, with the valve shown in elevation; Fig. L consists ol' :1 side and a plan vi w oi the valve; Fig. 3 consists (ii a side and a plan view ol the valve guidi g' uuh Fig. -l is a vertical cross section and perspective of a car tank and its dis charge appliances, the valve being shown in its raiscd position: Fig. 5 is a vertical scc lion similar to Fig. 1. showing another l'orm of valve guiding means; Fig. (3 is a perspeclive view ol' the discharge nozzle and valve guiding moans ol l ig. Fig. 7 is a. vertical section similar to Fig. 1, showing an additional improvement in connection with the arrangement ol' valvc and nozzle in common use: Fig. 8 is a similar view, showing such additional improvement in connection with the valve. nozzle and valve guiding means ol Fig. I; Fig. 5 is a vertical section similar to Fig. l, showing still another form o'l' valve guiding" means, with a nozzle ol' reduced length; and Fig. 10 is a perspectii'e view of the discharge nozzle and valve guiding means of l ig. l).

The car tank 1 (to be supported on wheeled trucks in any known or suitable way) is formed with a. discharge opening 2 and provided with a discharge nozzle 3 seforin of a collar 6 supported by legs 7 (any desired number of which can be used and three of which are shown). The spaces between the legs 7.permit the contents ,of' the tank 1 to be drawn off through the dischargeopening 2 and discharge nozzle 3, when these are unstopped. The nozzle has a closure for its'outer end, best inform of screw cap 27 (Figs. 7 and8). The discharge valve 8 is arranged to be guided by the collar 6 and to close the discharge opening 2 or to leave it unstopped, according to the position of the valve. When closed, its lower end is in proximity to the tank bottom; so. that the nozzle 3 could be bent or broken without affectin the valve. It is best, however, to 'orovi e a short projection below the valve seat 5, as shown, in order to retain the valve more securely on its seat.

The valve is quick acting (as distinguished from a screw valve with the usual itch of screw used in screw down valves). t moves vertically in the collar 6, whose smooth interior allows the valve 8 to slide in contact therewith. The valve is held in the closed position by a spring, shown in Fig. 4 as a spiral compression spring 19 surrounding the valve rod 14 in the dome of the tank and interposed between a collar 20 in said rod and the bracket 18, fast on the wall of said dome. The rod 14 is jointed at its lower end by a pivot'pin 15 loos'ely between ears 12 on the valve. The cars are best united together at 13 along one edge. The rod 14 plays through a hole in the end of the bracket 18; and to it above said bracket is fixed a cam 21 and operating handle 17. By turning the handle 17, the cam 21 (which makes contact'with the upper surface of bracket 18) acts upon the bracket in the direction to lift the rod 14 against the force of the spring 19 or to allowv it to be depressed by said spring. The valve 8 is best movable torsionally as well as verti cally; since its torsional movement not only allows a simpler form of joint between the rod and the valve, but also rubs the valve on its seat 5; which rubbin tends to prevent interferenoe with the tlghtness of the closure, should foreign matter get between the valve and its seat. 1

In order to use less material in the valve and also to make it less liable to stick in the collar 6, the valve has spaces on its surface so as to reduce the area of contact between itself and the interior surface of the collar 6. This latter surface, being cylindrical, can be regarded as presenting an indefinite number of guide faces to the inclosed valve. The valve is best made in the form of disks 9 and 10 connected with each other by webs 11, leaving spaces or cut-away porduced to theedges of the disks and webs. The valve guidin means 6 and 7 are on the valve side of the oint- 12 and 15 between the valve 8 and the valve rod 14. The opening in the collar 6 is of such size that the valve 7 8 can pass through it. The valve is thus easily withdrawn and replaced when de- I sired.v

When the handle 17 and cam 21 are turned in one direction the rod 14 and valve 5 -8 are raised against the pressure .of the spring19; and the discharge opening 2 is unstopped. When they are turned 1n the opposlte direction, the spring 19 forces the valve 8 to its seat and closes the discharge 3o rge nozzle 3. The spaces between the fingers allow the contents of the tank to ,flow to the'discharge opening 2; and they also have the effect of reducing the area of contact between the valve and the valve Even without the spaces 96 guiding means. between the disks 9 and 10 and webs 11 of the valve 8, the latter would thus have its area of contact reduced by the intervening spaces between fingers 23;

In Fig. 7 the cam 21, instead of being 10-,

cated in the tank dome, is located inside the tank adjacent to the valve. The rod 14 passes through a bracket 25 having legs 24, .by which it is secured 'to-the bottom of the tank and also having a lug 26 on one side for the cam 21 to ride over and act upon in lifting the valve. In this figure a discharge valve 22 of the kind in most common use having webs which extend belovl 'the valve into the discharge nozzle so far that the lower end of the valve is not (as in Figs. 1 to 6) in such proximity to the tank bottom,

when the valve is closed, that the valve is tions between the disks and webs as shown by which the area of contact between the valve and the interior of the collar 6 is relittle (if at all) likely to be made leaky by the bending or breakage of the nozz e The bracket 25 forms even here, however, a support inside the tank which tends to keep the valve on its seat in the event of an accident to the nozzle 3.

In Fig. 8, themore advantageous valve 3 and valve guiding means of Figs. -1 and 4 are shown in connection with the bracket 25 and the cam 21, both located in the lower part of the tank.

vIn Fig. 9 the valve is the same as in Figs. 8' I 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8; and its parts bear the same referencenumbers. The tank nozzle 31 is v shorter than the noazle 3 of preceding figures; but, like nozzle3, it is secured ,tq the tank by rivets 4 and is provided witl'z a seat I 5 for the valve and a screw cap 27. The valve guiding means in Figs. 9 and 10 inside the tank at lar 61, which is mounted integral with the nozzle 31.

The tank of the present invention is primarily and especially that of a railroad tank car having a discharge nozzle leading from the discharge opening in the bottom of the tank.

I claim as my invention or discovery:

In combination with a tank of a tank car, a discharge opening in the bottom of the tank, a valve seat secured to the outside of the tank and adjacent said discharge openon spaced legs '71,

the bottom consist of a coling, a nozzle registering with the opening and valve seat, a valve within the tank comprising two disks joined together by webs, and having no portion projecting into the tubular portion of the nozzle, means within the tank coacting withone of said disks and webs for guiding the valve in its movements, and means for moving the valve torsionally and to and from its seat. In testimony whereof I aflix my ture, in presence pf two witnesses.

CHARLES M. BLOXHAM. Witnesses:

W. A. HoLs'r, W. FLLIVINGSTON.

signa- 25 

